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Nelson's power struggle
Electricity was not commonly used in New Zealand until late in the 19th Century, with some cities and towns using electricity for street lighting and trams from 1888. Many businesses and industrial...
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Early colonial life in Nelson
Nelson’s early EuropeansWho were the first European colonists to Nelson? What kind of people were they?They were tough and inventive. Nelson’s first European houses were often built from little more...
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John and Anne Batt
Married and Gone to New Zealand - John and Anne Batt seek a new life in Nelson in 1842My great grandparents lived in two small adjacent villages in Hampshire: Barton Stacey and Chilbolton – just three...
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Nelson essentials - water and sewage
‘Bright pure water’ and sewageNew Zealand’s early cities reeked of rotting rubbish, dead animals and excrement, and water sources were often contaminated. By contrast, Māori settlements were hygienic,...
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Percy Adams and his gates
Percy Adams Memorial Gates, Wakapuaka CemeteryPercy Bolland Adams was born in Marlborough on 5 March 1854. His father William Adams, owner of Langley Dale1 station, was a Lawyer, was briefly the...
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Old Folks Hall Nelson
A well-used landmark of Nelson is the modest building beside the Trafalgar bridge with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Maitai River. Constructed in the 1956, the hall was the brain child of...
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Croquet in Nelson
Croquet was introduced to the Nelson area by the German immigrants who arrived on the Saint Pauli and settled in the Moutere district. Croquet became the accepted pastime of colonists and Sunday...
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Nayland College - daring to be different
Daring to be DifferentStoke’s co-educational Nayland College was established in 1966 in the shadow of the long and highly respected history and traditions of the Nelson’ city’s single sex schools. Bill...
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Trathens Store
Trathen’s – department store shopping in NelsonThe sophistication of department store shopping was introduced to Nelson by the Trathen family, whose flagship building with high, art deco windows stood...
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Tahunanui - the school by the sands
The story of Tahunanui School mirrors the rapid development its seaside location and the nearby beach into an established community and popular summer holiday destination.1View of Tahuna from Paddy's...
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Cyril Spear's Words of War
The diaries of a Nelson Evening Mail journalist provide some of the most compelling accounts of World War I to be written by a Nelson soldier.Cyril Saunderson Spear (born 7 August 1878) was employed at...
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George Lawrence
George Lawrence and the elephants of WakefieldThe Waimea South Historical Society was recently gifted two intriguing photographs, of elephants bathing in the Wai-iti River and penned beside the...
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Te Rae o Karaka or Karaka Point
Te Rae o Karaka Historic Reserve occupies a narrow headland that juts out into Totaranui (Queen Charlotte Sound), between Waikawa and Whatamango Bays. It is situated on what is now known as Karaka...
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Ropoama's Spring
Ropoama Te One, a rangitira of Te Atiawa, was one of the signatories to the Treaty of Waitangi, and one of the main signatories to the Waitohi Purchase, by the New Zealand Company, in 1850.After the...
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Resolution Bay or Atapu
It has been suggested that the Māori name for this bay should perhaps be O-Tapu, (a sacred place) or Ata-po (early dawn). Captain Cook named it Shag Cove, but later explorers gave it the present name...
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Resolution Bay or Atapu
It has been suggested that the Māori name for this bay should perhaps be O-Tapu, (a sacred place) or Ata-po (early dawn). Captain Cook named it Shag Cove, but later explorers gave it the present name...
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Curious Cove
Kahikatea Bay is named for the giant trees which once grew there, down to the shoreline.Aerial view of RNZAF recreation camp in Curious Cove. Defence Department imageThe land was first offered for sale...
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Marlborough's first newspaper
Timothy Millington and George Coward, two Englishmen who came to Marlborough via Australia and Nelson, started the Marlborough Province’s first newspaper in Blenheim, or the Beaver, on 6 January 1860....
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The Picton volunteers
In early Pakeha settlement, the tradition of a voluntary military service was carried over from England, and a Volunteer Corps was formed in New Zealand, mainly because of the perceived threat from...
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Nelson City Luncheon Club
One of Nelson's older Institutions - the Nelson City Luncheon Club voted to cease activity at the end of 2016. The Club had been active for 72 years but in the later years had seen a drop in...
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